Zhan Mohan looked at Catherine, who seemed to believe he cared more about his reputation.
As long as Catherine believed this could be used against him, it would be difficult for him to proceed with the exchange. While handing over the photos was an option, as Catherine had said, his original objective would not be achieved.
Zhan Mohan would not allow such a thing to happen.
"What? Not continuing?"
Catherine looked at Zhan Mohan's paused hand, feeling a surge of triumph, believing she had truly grasped his weakness.
But little did she know, Zhan Mohan simply thought it over and continued speaking into his phone to Fang Xun: "Let's try a different approach. Leak those photos to the media first, telling them it's Catherine's current boyfriend. Once the news spreads, we'll then reveal the truth to Kai."
Catherine was completely stunned, her previous smug expression frozen on her face, looking utterly ridiculous.
Zhan Mohan had undoubtedly broken the deadlock with this tactic, and now the initiative was entirely in his hands. If she didn't actively engage in the exchange with Zhan Mohan, she would certainly be ruined.
Catherine finally panicked. She knew she had walked into a trap. If she didn't reveal the truth herself, Zhan Mohan's plan, though not entirely convincing on its own, would be bolstered by Kai's subsequent confession, convincing everyone.
She would then be branded as a villain, and Kai's confession might even lead to her arrest by the police.
"Wait, Mr. Zhan!" Catherine finally spoke, biting her lower lip. "Can we talk about this again?"
"I don't have that much time. It's either the exchange or nothing."
Catherine bit her lip. "Mr. Zhan, I can take responsibility for my mistakes, but I don't want to affect the Feng family."
Zhan Mohan frowned slightly. Catherine was using the Feng family as a shield. She knew that Zhan Mohan, out of consideration for Wei Yumeng, would not abandon the Feng family and, when necessary, would have to stand by them.
"Mr. Zhan, I'll go explain everything to Wei Yumeng. That's all, alright?"
Catherine tried to use Wei Yumeng to divert Zhan Mohan's attention, unaware that Wei Yumeng and Zhan Mohan shared a telepathic connection and no longer cared about the matter.
Zhan Mohan said coldly, "As I said, you only have two choices."
As he spoke, Zhan Mohan showed Catherine the still-connected phone, signaling that time was running out.
Catherine clenched her fists. Didn't both choices lead to the same outcome for her? The only difference was that Kai might not know, and she wouldn't go to jail.
But since the matter had been made public, Kai finding out was only a matter of time. What was the essential difference?
She had no choice but to resort to drastic measures now that begging was futile.
Catherine suddenly laughed. "Mr. Zhan is indeed impressive to have cornered me like this. Fortunately, I have a backup plan."
Zhan Mohan remained silent, watching her. He couldn't be sure if Catherine truly had a backup or was just bluffing.
"You didn't really think I'd come alone without any preparation, did you? I knew there was a high probability you'd want to settle accounts with me, so I prepared something. What do you think I would use to threaten you? The children? Or Wei Yumeng?"
Zhan Mohan was startled. Indeed, the children had been under Fang Xun's direct care. However, Fang Xun had been reassigned to other tasks, making the children's situation the most dangerous.
Catherine continued, "I don't think you'd sacrifice the children's lives for the sake of so-called truth, would you?"
Zhan Mohan immediately said into the phone to Fang Xun: "Return to the school immediately and check on the children."
Fang Xun was already close to his destination. Not knowing what had happened, but sensing the gravity in Zhan Mohan's voice, he asked no further questions and quickly changed direction.
"It's too late. By now, the two children might already be in my hands."
"What exactly do you want?"
Catherine said with some triumph, "I want Wei Yumeng to return everything that originally belonged to me. Of course, if you can do that, I don't mind admitting that our relationship was fake. I just want what's mine, which isn't asking too much, is it?"
Zhan Mohan hadn't expected to be careless. He was on the verge of success, only to be outmaneuvered by someone like Catherine who always resorted to more despicable tactics, catching him off guard.
Zhan Mohan was now at a complete disadvantage and had no other choice. However, this choice was merely temporary for him.
After all, Wei Yumeng could give her the position of CEO, but how long she could hold onto it was uncertain.
"Alright, I agree," Zhan Mohan replied concisely.
His swift agreement surprised Catherine. She felt things were proceeding too smoothly, expecting Zhan Mohan to refuse or come up with another plan to deal with her.
But now, there was no time for Catherine to ponder. Zhan Mohan seemed to be waiting for her response.
"Then you must delete the photos."
Zhan Mohan slightly raised his chin. "Make the call, and let the children go."
They both picked up their phones simultaneously and did as the other instructed.
Zhan Mohan nodded. "Our transaction is considered complete. I will have Yumeng return those things to you, but from now on, I hope you will behave yourself. If you engage in such activities again, I will not give you another chance."
After speaking, Zhan Mohan, no longer wanting to look at Catherine's face, turned and left.
Catherine, however, was completely immersed in her joy. She had finally won. Everything would return to her hands. Indeed, with effort, one could always achieve their desired outcome.
On her way back, she deliberately passed by Feng Group. Seeing the imposing building, which would soon be hers again, she was filled with excitement.
It was a holiday, so there weren't many people in the company, and no one noticed Catherine's untimely appearance.
She entered a storage room and threw away the contents of the current office into the trash. As she was about to become CEO, she no longer needed any of it.
Next, once she became CEO, she would fire everyone who had mocked her back then, as well as Wu Yi, who had betrayed her. She would deal with Wu Yi first.
Thinking of this, she went to the CEO's office door. The door was now locked, and no one was there. But Catherine could already envision herself sitting inside again, holding the reins of the entire company.